Dendrite-Free Sodium Metal Anodes Enabled by a Sodium Benzenedithiolate-Rich Protection Layer

Sodium metal is an ideal anode material for metal rechargeable batteries, owing to its high theoretical capacity (1166 mAh g(-1)), low cost, and earth-abundance. However, the dendritic growth upon Na plating, stemming from unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film, is a major and most notable problem. Here, a sodium benzenedithiolate (PhS2Na2)-rich protection layer is synthesized in situ on sodium by a facile method that effectively prevents dendrite growth in the carbonate electrolyte, leading to stabilized sodium metal electrodeposition for 400 cycles (800 h) of repeated plating/stripping at a current density of 1 mA cm(-2). The organic salt, PhS2Na2, is found to be a critical component in the protection layer. This finding opens up a new and promising avenue, based on organic sodium slats, to stabilize sodium metals with a protection layer.